First ever reissue of "The Songs", the debut recording by Alan Sondheim
& Ritual All 770, originally released on Riverboat Records (later
recordings appeared on ESP Disk). Recorded in March 1967 and included
on the legendary Nurse With Wound list of experimental recordings, on
this album Alan Sondheim played Electric Guitar, Violin, Flute, Suling,
Xylophone, Alto Saxophone, Classical Guitar, Clarinet, Shenai, Bass
Recorder, Mandolin, So-na, Hawaiian Guitar, Koto, Sopranino Recorder,
Chimta, Cor Anglais, Sitar and Bansari.

Joined by Barry Sugarman (Tabla, Dholak & Naquerra), Chris Mattheson
(Bass), Robert Poholek (Trumpet & Cornet), Ruth Ann Hutchinson (Vocals),
June Fellows (Vocals) and J.Z. (Jazz Drums); Ritual All 770 were a group
of improvisors living in Providence, Rhode Island. (Perhaps they could
be considered the sonic forebearers of the Fort Thunder scene...)
Rejecting the notion that avant garde music was solely the realm of
isolated academia, they delved fearlessly and joyously into their
music, creating a work that sounds fresh nearly 40 years later.

FROM THE LINER NOTES:

This work is a single improvised performance in which one of the
performers sings "Oratorio on the end of illusions", although, in
my libretto the words were originally "Oratorio on the end of
visions". A libretto of eight pages was prepared. The vocalists
were not told how to sing it. They could go backward or repeat
any section if they wanted to. There was no score. The only
instruction given to the instrumentalists was this: no playing
behind the koto or classical guitar. I had several rehearsals with
each of them, mostly individually. The session lasted through two
takes, this is the second. After the master was made, I added
reverberation and volume controlling; other than that, all of the
music heard here is from the live performance.